Strong Front Row Pushes WPU Over Yellowjackets
Lamoni — Riding a strong wave of momentum after the comeback against St. Ambrose, William Penn men’s volleyball went to Graceland to get back into Heart of America Athletic Conference action. The Statesmen defended with authority, as they held the Yellowjackets to a negative hitting percentage on the night. Taking the sweep with set scores of 25-20, 25-21, and 25-14, WPU improves to 6-7 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
Graceland (4-6, 2-6 Heart) looked good early in the match. The hosts took a commanding 9-3 lead, but the navy and gold started to force the home side into some errors. After the miscues, Anthony Torres (Fr., Aurora, Ill., Computer Science) collected an ace to make it 9-6. He and Ike Papes (So., Elwood, Ill, Business Management) then recorded kills to make it 10-10. The Yellowjackets took the lead back, but William Penn got the other hitters rolling after that. Charlie Figy (Fr., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) picked up a kill and an ace, followed by Eli Herro (So., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) slapping a ball down on an errant pass from Graceland.
Tied at 13-13, WPU took a two-point lead and never looked back, as the errors continued to rack up for GU. Kills from Papes, Torres, and Figy pushed the lead to 21-17, and the Statesmen would take the set 25-20.
Set two started with Herro and Papes making consecutive kills, but the game would end up tied over the next few rallies. Despite the Yellowjackets running out to a little lead, the navy and gold came back to the score at 7-7.
Torres snuck in another ace to put the team up 9-8, one of six total aces he would deliver in the game. The six aces are the most in the program’s short two-year history. The defense negated the Yellowjackets, as they found blockers in the way and were compelled to take a timeout with the Statesmen up 11-8. Going up 13-9 on an ace by CJ Rettig (So., Sierra Madre, Calif., Physical Education), the team continued to lead the rest of the way. Despite a couple small runs by GU, the defense remained in shutdown mode for William Penn, and the navy and gold closed out set two with a 25-21 decision. WPU hit .524 in the frame, with 13 kills and two errors in 21 attempts.
The third set saw the defense really hit another level, as the Yellowjackets hit -.333 in the final period. The Statesmen had a kill from Herro to get the ball rolling, but the home side battled back. With Graceland evening the score at 4-4 over the next few rallies, WPU then surged ahead with a 6-2 run to take a 10-6 lead. Forcing GU into bad looks, the team cruised to a 17-9 advantage from there. Papes and Torres made a couple more kills, while the front row did their job, closing out the third set 25-14.
The team hit .344 on the night, with 30 kills, eight aces, and six solo blocks. Papes led the team with 10 kills, while Figy provided seven in the victory. Connor Muff (Jr., Kenosha, Wis., Business Management) had 25 assists on the night. The team had an almost even distribution of digs, with Torres leading the way with five, Papes collecting four, and Rettig and Francisco Cruz (Fr., Bayamon, Puerto Rico) getting three each.
Next Up: Friday’s game against UHSP has been postponed. With no word on a replacement opponent at the moment, WPU will next take to the court in the Penn Activity Center on Saturday, February 27, against Missouri Baptist at 1 p.m.
